FEATURED POST:

I’ve got a story in today’s paper about an agreement between Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Schenectady County regarding Spanish ballot materials. The AG and 10 counties upstate agreed that they would provide the services in locations with significant numbers of Puerto Rican voters, some of whom may have limited English. Schenectady was the first […] More »

Siena College Research has another entry in its series of surveys on bellwether congressional races, this time focusing on the race between GOP incumbent Ann Marie Buerkle and former Democratic Rep. Dan Maffei. It’s looking like a reprise of their 2010 matchup, which ended up coming down to absentee ballots. Each candidate is currently pulling […] More »

Good morning! It’s primary day, with races in the Capital Region and around the state in local and state offices. Polls are open in Upstate America from noon to 9 (except in Erie County), and open at 6 a.m. in New York City. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is there today with no announced public schedule. Here […] More »

Mitt Romney’s repeated denunciations of President Barack Obama in the aftermath of the deadly assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, is a high-risk political calculation that could damage a campaign that has been declining in the polls since the end of the Republican National Convention, political analysts said Wednesday. Romney’s use of the […] More »

Both Sen. Roy McDonald and Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione could keep running for the state Senate regardless of which of them wins Thursday’s GOP primary in the 43rd Senate District. McDonald, of Saratoga, has secured the Independence Party line; Marchione, of Halfmoon, is facing a less-than-robust challenge for the Conservative Party line from Ed […] More »

Public statements by the Office of the Comptroller on its role in the confidential settlement of sexual harassment charges against a ranking lawmaker did not sit right with the Assembly lawyer who spearheaded the deal, according to e-mails provided by the Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s records unit on Wednesday. The OSC, honoring a Freedom of Information […] More »

Assembly Republican Minority Leader Brian Kolb believes the Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal, which is also enveloping Democratic Majority Speaker Sheldon Silver as well as AG Eric Schneiderman and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, probably won’t become a major campaign issue for many of his candidates, especially upstate, where jobs, the economy and taxes trump concerns about […] More »

Seeing public corruption as a continuing problem, voters remain staunchly opposed to a legislative pay hike, according to a Quinnipiac poll released this morning. The survey found 79 percent of voters think corruption is a very or somewhat serious problem. This could become a problem for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has touted his tenure in […] More »

Good morning! There are just over 24 hours to go before polls open in this year’s legislative primaries. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in Albany with no announced public schedule, and it’s getting a bit warmer outside. Here are this morning’s headlines… SUNY will begin offering free counseling and loan default prevention help for students, officials […] More »

TROY — The 90-minute forum between Sen. Roy McDonald and Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione was the only debate in their Republican primary, and it took only 90 seconds for the attacks to start. Marchione, of Halfmoon, went after McDonald for his 2011 vote to legalize same-sex marriage, saying her opening statement that “when he […] More »

Former JCOPE Commissioner Ravi Batra has released another e-mail, under the subject line “In response to questions asked … ,” although we didn’t. It serves as a Cliffs Notes of sorts to yesterday’s eight-page mind-blower, which was addressed to “dear Prince” Andrew Cuomo. Dig it: “I could no longer serve as an independent commissioner blinded […] More »

Hedge funder Paul Singer and former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman have dumped $175,000 into a political action committee to support Republicans who voted for same-sex marriage, campaign filings show. The NY Unity PAC was created in August with $150,000 in seed money from Singer, the head of Elliott Management, and another $25,000 from Mehlman, who […] More »

Former Gov. George Pataki and author/journalist Kurt Eichenwald sparred on this morning’s episode of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” over, well, the jacket cover of Eichenwald’s new nonfiction account “500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars,” which delves into the months before and after the 9/11 attacks. Eichenwald offered a precis of the book in […] More »

Elected officials and candidates are releasing statements memorializing the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks: From Comptroller Tom DiNapoli: “Eleven years ago today, our nation endured a day of horrific tragedy and terrible loss. All of our lives were forever changed by the events of September 11, 2001. Today, I join with all New Yorkers […] More »

Good morning. No exclamation point today as we mark the 11th anniversary of terrorists attacks in New York City and Washington, remembering those who lost their lives and pausing to thank everyone who rallied to help our city, state and nation heal over the past decade. The weather is clear and crisp, not unlike 2001. […] More »

NDN politics videos

About Capitol Confidential

Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.